East to West – Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

So I was up again in the wee hours pondering this.  There is no answer that I can put into words without metaphor.  Then again the concept of sin and redemption must be explained in metaphor.

Defining how far the East is from the West can be measured point to point.  It cannot be measured in terms of things like redemption.  We use terms like; “I once was lost but now I am found” or “All I know is that I once was blind but now I see.”   We cannot see the spiritual so we express it in metaphor.

The image of the extent of God’s love is expressed in the cross.  The tree of death becomes the new tree of life.  The Son of God comes to redeem us and dies to make it so.  He explains that there is a symbol, a metaphor for how far away our sin is removed.   

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west— that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.

Then the question comes.  It is begged, repeated, and demanded.  How far is the East from the West?  The answer both metaphor and vivid visceral reality is in the answer:  From one scarred hand to the other.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West – Who Holds Whom?

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me You're holding on to me.”

So much of the wrong side of Christianity teaches us that we have to hold on to Christ to keep our relationship with him.  To manipulate believers constructs have been created that make us think we have to struggle and suffer to earn God’s continued love and acceptance.  The truth of this is truly as far as the East is from the West. 

Jesus made it clear that all that were his would not be taken from him.  He also made it clear that he would not cast them out. That means you and I Dear Reader.  The truth is that Jesus pursues us relentlessly. 

On my very darkest day Christ is there in every moment.  In most wicked moment Christ is there begging me to follow him and not my own will.   Even when I ignore him he stays with me.  I can hold on to Christ if I choose to but the reality is that he always holds onto me. 

No matter how I feel or think Jesus is there in every moment holding me as his own.  I must walk by faith in the truth of these promises.  It is never that I merit God’s favor.  It is that I always have it and need to tap into the riches that it provides.   I am never not his no matter how I feel.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West - The Day Begins

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin. Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in. Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way.”

Most mornings the first few moments of being awake are great.  I usually awaken with music in my head.  It is almost always some song that I love or need to learn from that day.  Then there is the processing of what must be done.  That is when I remember that I am alone.  That is when I the guilt, the loneliness, and the reminders of my failures begin to vie for my attention.

It is only by placing my faith if following Christ for the next moment that I find the will and strength to write, work, prepare, and live.  I learn in those moments that I would rather follow than falter. 

I know that God will not reject me yet the rejections from my past try to make me believe that I am always going to be rejected.  Experience with humans MUST NOT translate to my expectations of God.

The Father loves me as and where I am.  He does not require perfection and he does not care about the past failure.  What he wishes is that I follow his Son in the moment.  He does not promise that I will not still feel how I feel.  I am not assured that I will not struggle.  I am promised that my needs will be met.

It is the reminder of my failures that I use to drive me toward Christ.  What I am when I do not is hurried.   The east to west becomes evident when I follow.  It becomes blurred when I do not.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West – A Reminder of Distance

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west 'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again.”

The things I want are simple.  I think that the pain of the past often causes me to forget the Father’s forgetfulness when it comes to past failures.  I never want to be the man I used to be before I became moment by moment serious about following Christ. 

I can count all of the terrible things I used to do to and know when they try to assert themselves.  It is not enough to decide I am not going to “do ths again.”   I must moment by moment do what is right so that I do not have time to do what is wrong. 

It is in the following that peace is found.  It can be a struggle and part of that struggle is forgetting the depth to which I am forgiven.  People will remember our past failures and treat us badly based on them.  Jesus does not.

I need to be reminded daily how far the east is from the west.  I need to walk in that remembrance.  It is in this that I live and move and have my being.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West – Never Left; Never Forsaken

Greetings Dear Reader,

“I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west and I stand before You now as though I've never sinned but today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way”

It is the resurgence of false or past guilt that freezes me.  It comes to me in the wee hours of the morning or when I am in a tense situation.   The voices in my head bring up the past and remind me of the treacherous shortcuts that bring temporary relief but enhanced pain later.

It is never that Christ will abandon me or give up on me.  He already knows everything that I will ever do and think.  Rather it is that my fallen nature wants me to be debilitated.  It is the joust between faith and falsehood that I attend daily as both spectator and prize.  The hitch is that I decide who wins. 

I choose how I will deal with the reminders and how I will let them impact my life.  It is my obligation to forbid that past to hinder the present.  I must always remember how Christ views me.  He has already dealt with my failures and gives me the opportunity to experience his grace and peace. 

The greater failure is to avoid having faith in that provision.  I need to experience the grace given me in every moment.  That sounds mystical but in practical application it really works.  It is a moment by moment choice that I must make in learning how far the east is from the west.  

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West – I Don’t Want to End up Where you Found Me

Greetings Dear Reader,

“The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest.  I don't want to end up where You found me and it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight.”

The wolf is always at the door.  The flesh wars against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.  The things that I want to do that are wrong always clamor for my attention.   They want to distract me from what is good and kind.  They offer paths other than the journey.

I recall what it was like before I chose to follow Christ.  All I wanted was escape from the pain I constantly carried.  Some of it is still there but it no longer controls me or makes me want to die. 

I am not in a dark place whilst I walk through this sign.  I am wrestling with being alone.  It takes a constant remembrance that the Father knows my needs and has all in hand.  I truly believe this.  It is late at night, when I retire alone that the darkness reminds me how lonely I am. 

It is in these moments that faith matters.  It is in this time that I decide if I am going to follow for not.  The trick is that I will choose to follow.  It is not in me to do it on my own but Christ promises to give both the will and the ability to follow. 

Once again it comes down to faith.  I must live what I believe.    I must actively follow even in the darkness I must follow and believe.

Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg

Climbing a mountain

In darkness

Stranded alone on the ledge.

Every attempt that I make to hold on

Pushes me nearer the edge.

Sensing the changes impending

My thoughts are diffused by despair

I feel like I'm swimming straight up

Underwater

Desperately racing for air

I'm racing for air.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

Surrounding myself with possessions

I surely have more than I need

I don't know if this is justice, hard earned,

Or simply a matter of greed

A matter of greed.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

And the chords struck at birth

Grow more distant

Yet, we strike them again and again.

And we plead and we pray

For a glimmer of day

As the night folds its wings

And descends

Exposing the loose ends.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West – Omniscient Forgetfulness

Greetings Dear Reader,

“Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness.”

I sometimes forget that when I acknowledge my wrongdoing (sin) that the Father not only forgives it but he forgets it.  God who knows all things chooses to forget our sin.  He chooses to remember all his love for us and forget all of our sin.

I recall and regret things that are forgiven and forgotten.   They still hinder me at times.  They still cause me to move more slowly in life than I desire.  I am not sure how to let go of some of it.

When my past failures haunt me I sometimes allow them to keep me from moving forward.  The specters of the past cloy at me constantly to steal my peace of mind.  They want me to drown in a sea of false guilt and regret. 

I must remember in these moments that this is not how the Father sees me.  It is rather that he sees me a forgiven, restored, and sinless.  It is we that get overwhelmed and drown in our past.  We are not supposed to live this way. 

Ghosts – Dan Fogelberg

Sometimes in the night I feel it

Near as my next breath and yet untouchable

Silently the past comes stealing

Like the taste of some forbidden sweet

Along the walls in shadowed rafters

Moving like a thought through haunted atmospheres

Muted cries and echoed laughter

Banished dreams that never sank in sleep

Lost in love and found in reason

Questions that the mind can find no answers for

Ghostly eyes conspire treason

As they gather just outside the door

And every ghost that calls upon us

Brings another measure in the mystery

Death is there to keep us honest

And constantly remind us we are free

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of days that we've left behind

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of dreams that we left behind

Sometimes in the night I feel it

Near as my next breath and yet untouchable

Silently the past comes stealing

Like the taste of some forbidden sweet 

And every ghost that calls upon us

Brings another measure in the mystery

Death is there to keep us honest

And constantly remind us we arn’t free

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of days that we've left behind

Down the ancient corridors

And through the gates of time

Run the ghosts of dreams that we left behind

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

East to West - Opening

Greetings Dear Reader,

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west— that is how far he has removed our rebellious acts from himself.

Once again a song has wormed its way into my brain and will not let go.  It is a good song with many inroads into my life.  It has been there when I awakened every day for about a week.  It floats through my mind unbidden whenever I am not concentrating on anything else.  It resurges as I drift off to sleep.

It is a good thing I like the song and I really do.  I must see what it is trying to teach me.  As I walk through the verses I will ponder the theology and lessons in the song.  I do not feel that I am in any spiritual danger and that intrigues me further.

Enjoy the song and walk with me as I try to figure out what it is telling me.  Your company always makes the journey better Dear Reader.

East to West – Casting Crowns

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness

The chains of yesterday surround me

I yearn for peace and rest

I don't want to end up where You found me

And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight

I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west

And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned

But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west

'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin

Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in

Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light

I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night

I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals

I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me

You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west

I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

One scarred hand to the other

From one scarred hand to the other.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)